Why Anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ Claims Promote Fear and Misinformation

For what it’s worth, my preamble: It is crucial to address the harmful and baseless claims that the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community and allies are involved in child grooming and sexual abuse. These allegations are nothing more than anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ propaganda and a conspiracy theory perpetuated by far-right groups. It is concerning to see some mainstream conservatives in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries promoting such falsehoods. We must stand together to reject these harmful and unfounded accusations and support the rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

WHAT IS GROOMING-AN ACTUAL DEFINITION

“Grooming is a manipulative tactic used by adults to create an environment where children or young people become susceptible to sexual exploitation.” It involves using flattery, isolation, and other means to build trust and increase the power dynamic between the adult and child. It is a serious concern that requires awareness and action to prevent and address.

THE LAVENDER SCARE: THE BEGINNING

It is important to note that the belief that “[2SLGBTQQIA+] individuals are more likely to molest children” is not based on any factual evidence. Despite this, this assertion has been present in the U.S. and Europe for many decades, dating back to before World War II. During the Lavender Scare at the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. government sought to remove homosexuals from positions of importance.

In recent times, conspiracy theories have been used for partisan political campaigning, which has frustrated proper support for abuse survivors. Child rights advocates have expressed concern that such notions encourage discrimination, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights organizations have condemned the use of these ideas in various countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Hungary, Uganda, and others.

The use of “groomer” and “pro-groomer” as slurs specifically rose to prominence in the early 2020s, particularly in the wake of anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ curriculum bills. The conspiracy theory behind the trope draws on older forms of prejudice against 2SLGBTQQIA+ people to argue that “2SLGBTQQIA+ people are systematically using 2SLGBTQQIA+-inclusive sex education and campaigns for 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights” as a method of “normalizing pedophilia” and “indoctrinating children.” It is an expression of homosexual seduction, homosexual recruitment and acquired homosexuality theories, drawing on the idea of an organized 2SLGBTQQIA+ agenda or “trans ideology” to convert children’s sexuality or gender identity.

While the conspiracy theory behind the modern groomer slur is often traced to American singer Anita Bryant and her “Save Our Children” coalition founded in 1977, its precursors go back further.

In the United States, the term’s popularization has been linked to Christopher Rufo, who tweeted about “winning the language war,” and James A. Lindsay in August 2021.

In July 2021, Julia Serano noted a rise in false accusations of grooming directed towards transgender people, saying that it appeared as if there was a movement to “lay the foundation for just smearing all trans people as child sexual predators.” Libs of TikTok (LoTT) also slurs 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, supporters of 2SLGBTQQIA+ youth, and those who teach about sexuality as “groomers.” In 2021, LoTT made false claims that the Trevor Project was a “grooming organization” and that Chasten Buttigieg was “grooming kids.” LoTT creator Chaya Raichik said on the Tucker Carlson Today show that LGBT people “Want to groom kids. They’re recruiting.”

The conspiracy theory then moved into the American conservative mainstream, with several high-profile cases of its use in Spring 2022, including its use by members of the Republican Party. On February 24, the right-wing The Heritage Foundation issued a tweet stating that the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act “protects young children from sexual grooming.”

THE POLITICS OF HATE

A left-leaning think tank survey found that around 29 percent of likely American voters believe the conspiracy theory. The results were significantly divided by political party.

There have been instances of transgender individuals being subjected to malicious and targeted attacks that involve or reference a common trope. In contrast, previous theories tended to concentrate on gay men. These accusations and conspiracy theories are not founded on any evidence and are widely regarded by experts as unfounded, relying on prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes towards people who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+. These theories are seen as a contemporary manifestation of a moral panic.

Those who hurl the word “groomer!” at 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in this manner typically do so without a shred of evidence that the targeted person has engaged in such activities. They also often use “grooming” about completely non-sexual things, such as rainbow flags hanging in classrooms, efforts to accommodate trans students, or when schools have non-discrimination policies protecting 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. While anti-trans/LGBTQ+ campaigners may frame their interventions in terms of “safeguarding children,” they rarely, if ever, express similar concern over actual cases of grooming and CSA, the overwhelming majority of which are perpetrated by cis-hetero men who are family members or close acquaintances of the child.

Based on excellent reporting from the Advocate, “A new report pulls aside the curtain and reveals the background of those working to spread anti-LGBTQ+ hatred using the hate account Gays Against Groomers. The founder of Gays Against Groomers, Jaimee Michell, and her partners are former ultra-MAGA Trump followers who spread anti-transgender propaganda with QAnon conspiracy theories and links to extremist militias, according to a Media Matters for America investigation published last week.” 

The article continues, “However, GAG is not a grassroots initiative but a right-wing project seeking to gain political and financial advantage by using anti-trans rhetoric, according to the left-leaning media watchdog. GAG was formed last year “to protect the kids” from “sexualization, indoctrination, and medicalization,” Michell claims, and it has gained prestige in right-wing circles along with Chaiya Raichik’s Libs of TikTok, which also attacks the LGBTQ+ community. Both have promoted the use of the anti-LGBTQ+ slur “groomer.” Media Matters found that GAG isn’t Michell’s first venture in far-right social media circles. She was a prolific MAGA Twitter user in 2016 and 2017, often peddling QAnon conspiracy theories.”

Bigotry takes many shapes, but one particularly vile form is gaslighting and stochastic violence. Unfortunately, this type of hatred seems to originate from right-wing conservative ideology. These tactics, often fueled by fake news and baseless slander, pose a severe threat to the health and well-being of targeted communities and nations. We must recognize and combat this dangerous phenomenon before it causes irreparable harm.

Continuing from the Advocate, “In May 2022, [Jaimee Michell] began working at a far-right social media communications firm, X Strategies. The firm, cofounded by right-wing activist Alex Bruesewitz, was previously accused of paying online influencers as young as 14 to run advertisements for the Trump “Election Defense Fund.” Michell’s new position coincides with the increased use of the “groomer” slur popularized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw to attack LGBTQ+ people. During her first month in the new role, Michell established Gays Against Groomers. She regarded any sign of acceptance for LGBTQ+ youth by schools, companies, celebrities, or online users as grooming, according to Media Matters.”

FACT-CHECKED

Myth: Allowing trans people to use the restroom of the gender they identify with will end up letting male sexual predators into women’s bathrooms.

Reality: More US Congressmen have been convicted of sexual assault in a public bathroom than trans people. That’s because there have been zero reported cases brought up against trans people. Most of them being Republican elected officials. It seems that a lot of what the right-wing, homophobic and transphobic bigots decry is often a mix of projection and confessions.

From Vox, “Media Matters … found that 17 school districts around the country with protections for trans people, which collectively cover more than 600,000 students, had no problems with harassment in bathrooms or locker rooms after implementing their policies. Conservatives usually counter that there are examples of men sneaking into women’s bathrooms to attack women. But as PolitiFact reported, none of the examples cited in the U.S. happened after a city or state passed a non-discrimination law or otherwise let trans people use the bathroom or locker room for their gender identity. Instead, these seem to be examples of men doing awful things regardless of the law — which has, unfortunately, happened since the beginning of civilization.”

While the issue is now being used primarily against trans people, historically, bathroom fears have been regularly deployed against civil rights causes. It was used against black people to justify segregation — by invoking concerns that black men would attack white women in bathrooms. It was used to stop the Equal Rights Amendment, which tried to establish legal equality between men and women because opponents claimed it would lead to the abolition of bathrooms for different genders, potentially putting women in danger.

The very same people using the same appalling rationalizations who argued against desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s are the same people who are arguing this point or are at least the children of those wretched racists.

It is unfortunate that I have to write articles like this. However, I am committed to correcting the record, educating, and advocating for my trans community as long as there is no barrier to this campaign of division, inequity, and violence from our elected officials and our criminal and judicial system. I will continue to defend my community and strive toward a future where equality and justice prevail.

This article was prepared with the assistance of some stellar research and reporting from, Vox, GLAAD, The Gender Specialist, The Pink News, The Human Rights Campaign, Politico, Julia Serano, The Advocate.

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